The string groups and orchestras annual Pyramid Concert took part on 28 January in partnership with the Friends of Southampton Youth Orchestra. For many of Southampton's young musicians and their families this is the highlight of the year where younger players are inspired by the more senior players and the more advanced players can reflect on the musical journey they have been on over the years. As always the standard of playing was incredibly high from all groups with a huge variety of music being played from a Midnight Feast through to a Slavonic Dance.

"The Pyramid Concert is always such an inspirational concert for all players and is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the musical achievements of Southampton's young musicians" — Zoe Hunting, Ensemble Manager

Below is a review from Zoe Williamson. a member of Elgar Strings:

The Pyramid concert is one of the biggest concerts of the year for all the Southampton Music hub orchestras. It is when all the youth orchestras (Acorn, Elgar, SYS, SYSC, SYO) play. We all love this concert (even the conductors), it just creates the most surreal atmosphere for the players. This year we all enjoyed playing our pieces. Every orchestra's performance was great.

Acorn, the youngest orchestra with some of the musicians that have been played for less than a year, played a piece called Midnight feast. It was funny and enjoyable because it contained a mix of singing and playing. Also, their leader George was amazing.

Elgar's memorable moment in this concert was their piece Nightrider, the group's favourite. It was very exciting and thrilling to play and listen too. The piece had the smaller children work hard and we all knew they practised a lot in rehearsals. There co-leaders Lucas and Lucy made sure everyone stayed in time. Even Kevin said " it was the best Elgar had played in seven years"

Next was SYS with their leaders Shin and Enuya. They played the 4 movements from Sunny Strings. They were jolly, mood lifting, bright and light. The bass line was well supported by the cellos and the double basses.

After the interval, SYCS played 2 pieces: one of them was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. They really created the atmosphere of the story with audience interaction. It was gripping and made us sit on the edge of our seats. We think the conductor, Anna Robinson, really wanted to connect with the audience. She also showed the audience that she does not always need to conduct because the orchestra was following their leader, Samuel.

To finish off the concert, SYO played the Overture to Orpheus in The Underworld

which is a piece everyone knows because it is also known as the French Cancan. It was magnificent and powerful the way they played it. It also made us dance our way off to collect our instruments

This concert is very inspirational for the audience and the younger players to see what they could achieve as a musician. Hopefully it also inspires more children to play instruments.

The Rap and Literacy (Co-designing a Creative Curriculum) project was initiated by Southampton Music Hub, funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and worked with art-based practitioner (Rob Bradley) as well as three Southampton Schools (Bassett Green Primary School, St Monica Junior School and Weston Park Primary School) between May 2021 and December 2022.

Through a process of co-construction, a year’s long programme of music and literacy was designed and delivered from September 2021 to July 2022, including workshops, class-based lessons, and performances. The programme worked with 270 pupils, nine class-based teachers, one music hub curriculum specialist, and rap performer Rob Bradley. In addition to those taking part in the core programme activity, performances reached an audience of over 200 parents and family members.

Following the completion of the project, a documentary film and evaluation report is being released following a shared learning and celebration event in January which was attended by the organisations who took part, as well as regional education and cultural partners, and Arts Council England.

Find out more about the Action Research of Southampton Music Hub

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Photographs thanks to City Eye.

Local hip hop artists came together to lay out an history of hip hop in an interactive schools concert at MAST Mayflower Theatre on 17th January to an audience of 300 primary and secondary age students.  

Vocalist ShannonB, Rapper & Freestyler TenChoo, Producer Karan Master, DJ SteveO and musician Jono laid out the foundations of Hip Hop from it’s roots in Jamaican Toasting right up to Trap, Drill and Road Rap in the present day.  

Through interactive songs, live performances and a memorable freestyle the audience learned about DJing, sampling, mixing, live track creation and heard live versions of songs by Stormzy, Craig David, Lauren Hill and even a local young rapper Tommy who gave his first ever live performance.

Year 5 Teacher:

“The local artists really made it a special experience for the children involved and they were absolutely buzzing about it afterwards.  We have never been to a schools' event quite like it before!”

Teacher from St Deny’s Primary:

“Thank you for the awesome hip hop workshop at MAST this morning.  Pure class - informative, entertaining, engaging, inspiring.  My class from St Denys loved it and so did I, we were all buzzing all afternoon.”

Nia Collins:

“We are so lucky in Southampton to have such a wealth of homegrown talent in the UK’s hip hop scene and to be able to link those artists and industry professionals up with schools has been brilliant.  Redbridge Secondary students were particularly excited to see ShannonB, who until not long ago was a student there herself for example!  Then to also be able to give an opportunity to Tommy to start his journey following in their footsteps too was great”

Southampton Music Hub ensemble Southampton Youth Wind Band performed a very special family concert for children aged 2 and up and their parents at MAST Mayflower Theatre on 17th January.  The band under their conductor John Hanchett performed fantastic space and time travel themed music including the theme from Doctor Who and Star Wars.

During this interactive concert, presented by Kath Page and Nia Collins, children and their families learned about; instruments in the orchestra, musical words, how to keep the pulse, how to conduct and created exciting body percussion rhythms to go with the music.  This relaxed and educational concert allowed everyone in the audience to join in and move with the music.

The following morning this concert was then replicated for 350 school children from Year R, Year 1 and Year 2 from across the city.  

John Hanchett Conductor:

“Wonderful to see, hear and feel the joy from the children watching”

Year 2 Teacher:

“I just wanted to say how amazing it was.  We were blown away.  You all did such a great job, thank you!”

Nia Collins:

“Alongside the enjoyment and educational nature of this experience, it’s so special for younger children to see the older children playing in one of our top tier ensembles.  Hopefully this will inspire them to play an instrument the future too.”

As part of our Digital Native Artists (DNA) programme, young people taking part in songwriting and production sessions have written some questions to ask members of the team. Next up, introducing JT.

JT (He/Him) has been working with Southampton Music Hub since December 2021. JT works mostly in person in Southampton using his skills as a rapper, drummer, and beatboxer to support young people in learning and developing their own music.

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How did you get started in music and with writing music, and how did that get you here?

I started playing drums in Year 8 of school, then started rapping in Year 9!

What genre(s) of music do you create?

Rap, Hip Hop, Drill and more!

What instruments and tools are you using for recording?

Vocals, Logic Pro X, GarageBand, Drums and more!

Which other artists inspire you?

J Cole, Central Cee, Ard Adz, Lauryn Hill - the list goes on!

What inspires you when you create music?

The energy around me and how reflective I'm feeling, as most of my music is created around my emotions!

What's the most important piece of advice you have for aspiring musicians?

First off - just enjoy creating music! Keep trying, even if you fail! The music industry can be hard to break and requires a lot of time, energy and passion!

Check out some of the tools in our ecosystem of music hub to find out more about making music your career.

As 2022 comes to an end, we’re highlighting some of the most memorable moments from the year:

Earlier in the year

Southampton Music Hub ensembles and choirs have been busy performing over the last few weeks.  Performances have taken place across a wide range of venues in Southampton, Hedge End and Chandlers Ford and have been attended friends and family as well as an increasing number of members of the general public.  

"The end of the autumn term is always an exciting time for our groups as they give their first performances of the academic year and get everyone in the mood for the upcoming Festive season.  My huge congratulations goes out to all our young performers and their directors and assistant directors on all of their achievements this term"  Zoe Hunting, Southampton Music Hub Ensemble Manager

The standard of playing has been incredibly high as always, with great commitment, enjoyment and enthusiasm being shown throughout.  This energy and commitment to music making comes through clearly in the thoughts of some of our players:

"The concert was an incredible experience, the repertoire was very fun to play and being on stage with such a talented orchestra was a delight! I am proud of being part of SYCS and really looking forward to future concerts." SYCS member - Violin

'I was really excited and full of adrenalin for my first sycs concert. It lived up to my expectations and more! The concert had a mix of great humour and fantastic music. I'm really looking forward to my tour experience in Feb 2023 to the Midlands.' — SYCS member - clarinet 

Staff are equally proud of the achievements of all the young performers:

'I am extremely proud of the orchestra's achievements this term. They have worked incredibly hard which showed in a programme which truly reflected the SYCS-MAS spirit! This makes me extremely excited for the rest of the season and what the orchestra will deliver next!' Anna Robinson- Director of SYCS 

"On 21st November Acorn musicians did themselves proud in what was, for most of them, their first ever live concert. The ensemble performed a selection of easy pieces highlighting their new skills in playing together and following a conductor. The concert also provided the opportunity for nine of the ensemble to perform a solo piece to their parents and peers. " Chris Nichols - Director, Acorn Strings

On Friday 2 December 2022 two rappers from Bassett Green release their debut tracks, recorded at MAST Music Studio.

The first track, from Nathaniel, is called ‘Life is a Blessing’ and is about “inspiring people to keep trying hard, and to not give up on their dreams, no matter what happens to them.”

The second track, from Mckinley, is called ‘Took Me All These Years’ and is about “the past, and no matter what happens, to keep on trying”.

Nathaniel and Mckinley first took part in rap sessions at their school thanks to the Rap and Literacy Project, funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation. They have come to the MAST Music Studio as part of the DNA Programme which supports young musicians working in digital music genres.

Eliza Carthy sat down with FolkActive Youth Ensemble (FAYE) members last night to chat about her musical journey, advice for young musicians and her life as a touring artist.

Eliza is mid way though her sell out ‘Queen of the Whirl’ tour, celebrating 30 years as a professional musician; daughter of Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy she truly is folk music royalty, she is also the president of the English Folk Dance and Song Society.

FAYE is run in partnership by Southamton Music Hub and FolkActive CIC.

FolkActive director Tom Gregory:

“It’s wonderful do be able to use our connections in the folk world to provide opportunities like this for these young musicians. It’s so exciting to see these young people developing not just as instrumentalists, but as artists within the local folk community. We’d like to thank Eliza for her time and passion for the next generation of folk musicians and also Turner Sims for their continuing support for FAYE.”

Find out about Hub partners FolkActive including FAYE and the Southamton Folk Orchestra:

Isle of Wight Music Hub is delighted to have partnered with English Heritage again to provide schools with the opportunity to perform at Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s famed residence in East Cowes.

Eight schools and over 350 children visited the house on Tuesday 29th November to take part in a carousel of activities including Victorian Christmas Cracker making, a tour of the house and a choir performance for the other schools and parents who attended with them.  The performances took place in the incredible Durbar Room and the children were singing in the exact spot where Queen Victoria’s own children would perform for her at Christmas.  

We were treated to some magical performances from sixth form students from Medina and Carisbrooke College right the way down to Key Stage 1 pupils from island primaries and everything in between. 

“The children loved it, it was a lovely thing to do especially with the mix of crafts, a tour and singing. Thanks for arranging these opportunities for our children, they really do make a difference” Graham Andre Assistant Head Lanesend Primary School

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Over the next two years, children and young people on the South West coast will have new opportunities to shape and lead the future of music-making due to an exciting project from the South West Coastal Music Hub Alliance, and all made possible thanks to funding from Youth Music.

The five music hubs in the alliance — Southampton; Isle of Wight; Portsmouth; Dorset; and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole — are working together to reach out to children and young people who are missing out on learning and making music because of their background or life circumstances. 

With the support of “Youth Voice Engagement Workers”, the initiative will help these young people to shape and lead exciting “Action Research” projects: testing out new ideas and approaches which will enable more children and young people to access music in the future. The project will also be co-managed by a young person for the first time.

This initiative is supported by Youth Music, using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

“This is an amazing and exciting project, and we are so grateful to Youth Music for making it possible. We know that young people in our region have incredible ideas and ambitions for making music, and we want to make sure they can access the support they want and need to help make their aspirations and reality.”

— Matt Brombley, Project Manager 

The South West Coastal Music Hub Alliance is recruiting for Youth Engagement Workers as well as a young co-project manager, find out more below:

As part of our Digital Native Artists (DNA) programme, young people taking part in songwriting and production sessions have written some questions to ask members of the team. Next up, introducing Noah Johnson.

Noah Johnson (He/Him) has been working with Southampton Music Hub since March 2020. Noah works both in-person and online from the Isle of Wight, providing music technology provision for young people.

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How did you get started in music and with writing music, and how did that get you here?

I taught myself guitar as a child, and then started learning other instruments throughout my teenage years, including drums, keyboard and vocals. I attended a music making holiday club called Music Matters, and kept attending these clubs every half term and summer holiday. It gave me experience in production, song writing and performance. I then went to university (Platform 1 on the Isle of Wight) to study commercial music. After this I worked with some of the musicians I met at Music Matters and grew my work within community music projects. I moved down to the Isle of Wight in 2018 to study a Masters, and have stayed here since, working with schools and organisations on music technology provision for young people.

What genre(s) of music do you create?

I write electronic, ambient relaxed music, as well as pop and acoustic songwriter music. More recently I have been working on some more electronic styles of music and trying to branch out my understanding of different genres.

What instruments and tools are you using for recording?

My main tool is Logic Pro combined with some small synths and keyboards at home. I like to combine electronic synths with home-made samples and recordings. I also use Pro Tools for mixing music.

Which other artists inspire you?

Production wise, I love Bon iver, Brittany Howard, Ólafur Arnalds and Mitski. I am also creatively inspired by The Staves, Joni Mitchell and Sufjan Stevens.

What inspires you when you create music?

The best way to get my creative juices flowing is to give me a new instrument. Maybe a different style of guitar or synth, or an upright piano. I also find being in different spaces, such as local coffee shops, really helps open my brain up to new creative ideas, as well as going on long walks! 

What's the most important piece of advice you have for aspiring musicians?

Really get to know yourself as a musician, and then work on being unashamedly you! It can feel like time is wasted when you spend time creating things that aren’t connected to who you are. The music industry is a tough cookie, so if you aren’t doing what you love, it becomes much harder!

Check out some of the tools in our ecosystem of music hub to find out more about making music your career.

Check out ‘This is Me"‘, the first track from J Digwa, who has been taking part in FLOW rap sessions with Southampton Music Hub.

FLOW sessions are part of the Digital Native Artists (DNA) programme, are free to join, and support young rappers to tighten up their rhythms, sharpen their rhymes, and improve their flow.

As part of our Digital Native Artists (DNA) programme,  young people taking part in songwriting and production sessions have been  interviewing members of the team. In the first of the series, Chris interviews Matt Brombley.

Matt Brombley (He/Him/They/Them) has worked with Southampton Music Hub since it was formed in 2012, and before that, he worked at Southampton Music Services. He works online, and in-person: both around the city and at the Music Studio at MAST.

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How did you get started in music and with writing music, and how did that get you here?

I started when I was about seven, and started playing drums. Weirdly, I always thought that as a drummer, songwriting wasn't for me. But when I discovered the world of samplers and making music on computers, I found a way to really get into songwriting. Since then, I've been writing and producing music, including getting a degree in music production from Solent University. And now as well as making my own music, I work here at Southampton and IOW Music Hubs, and at Solent University, helping young people get opportunities to make music and express themselves.

What genre(s) of music do you create?

Mostly electronic and pop music. But within that I like to bring in elements from other genres too, including hip hop and indie. I really enjoy listening to a wide variety of music, and I find I get inspired by all that music, even if the thing I make at the end doesn’t sound anything like it.

What instruments and tools are you using for recording?

I use a Mac laptop to create most of my music, and I either work in Logic or Pro Tools. I also use a phone app called Auxy a lot for sketching out song ideas on the go. I have an SE mic for vocals (they don’t make the one I use anymore, but this one is similar) which I connect with a Universal Audio Arrow Thunderbolt Audio Interface. I use a bunch of instruments, some on my Mac, and some hardware synths like my Juno which I use a lot. 

Which other artists inspire you?

I love artists like Frank Ocean, PinkPantheress, Ryan Beatty, London Grammar, Piri & Tommy, Drake, FKA Twigs, Sampha and James Blake. Those are the kind of artists I feel like my music sits well alongside too. But then I also find inspiration in artists whose work sounds nothing like mine, but there is something about the way they create melodies, or craft lyrics, or express themselves vocally which I find can spark new ideas, including artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar. Plus I have all the music I remember from growing up, music from the late 80s, through to the 90s pop, RnB and dance music, then the indie disco and nu rave music of the early 2000s too.

Your new song, ‘Something in the Water’, what is the song about?

I often write music to help me process and understand what is going on in my life and in my head. This song started earlier this year when I was having a really tough mental health patch. As someone who experiences a lot of anxiety, writing this song helped me get my head around why that is, and how it doesn’t just make me weak, but is also what makes me strong.

You’re releasing and promoting your own music, what are the different steps needed to make that happen?

The basic steps are:

1. Songwriting

2. Production / Recording

3. Mixing

4. Mastering

5. Distribution

6. Promotion

So, the first three steps are all about creating the music: songwriting, production and mixing. Some people think of these as separate steps, but for me, I work on them together. I know other people who write a song, then work with someone else to record and mix it, but because I create most of my music on my own, I work on them all the same time. 

Once I have a track I’m really happy with, then I will master it. This is the process of polishing the track up, and getting it ready to be listened to on streaming, radio, download, or whatever format the song will be released as. This process has a bunch of different elements, and can be pretty complex and require a lot of expertise and experience to do well. Some people send their tracks away to be mastered, although this can be quite expensive. Online tools like LANDR are cheaper and can master a track using AI, but the results aren’t always as reliable as a professional doing it. This time round, I’ve been mastering my own music, which has been a challenging but exciting process.

Distribution is the next stage. Lots of people use SoundCloud and YouTube as they’re both free to use and can help you reach a new audience. But most people listen to their music on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, and if you want to get your music on those, you’ll need to use a digital distribution service. I use Ditto, but there are loads of others. Usually it takes at least a few weeks from uploading your track until it appears on streaming services.

The final stage is promotion, although you can be doing this all along. Social media is great for finding new people who will enjoy what you make, including TikTok and Instagram. To reach new audiences, the BBC and local radio stations have ways to upload your music to be played on shows like BBC Introducing and Voice FM’s South Coast Music Show. If you’re sending your music to radio, blogs and other sites, its always good to have a press release and Electronic Press Kit (EPK) which contains a biography, photos, song artwork, and a copy of the song to listen to (if it’s not already out yet). There is so much more you can do with music videos, jumping on TikTok trends, physical promotion and more. It’s an area I wish I was better at, and wish I had more time for. But at its heart, it’s about seeking out and getting your music in the ears of people who might enjoy it.

Check out some of the tools in our ecosystem of music hub to find out more about making music your career.

This October, in celebration of Black History Month, Southampton and Isle of Wight Music Hubs are delivering workshops in over 20 schools in the region: writing rap lyrics on the 2022 UK theme for BHM ‘Time for Change: Action not Words’. Lyrics from these songs will be brought together by local artists to create one performance track shared back with everyone who took part and featured at our schools hip-hop event in January in MAST Mayflower Studios.

The original song this term was composed and brought together by local artist and regular music hub partner deliverer @JT_UK_, and produced by @Lovemade_Muru another local artist.  You can find the resources for our BHM rap project  in the Everybody Sing Song Bank if you would like to have a go at this at home or in school.
The weekly music hub digital resource content has been featuring songs by important black musicians over the past few weeks through a wealth of content in our 10 Minute Sign & Sing (KS2+) and 5 Minute Rhythm & Rhyme (EYFS and KS1) channels. You can head over the 10 Minute Sign & Sing YouTube channel and use the Black History Month playlist or search ‘Black History Month’ in the songbank to enjoy learning to sing, sign or do some body percussion to one of the many tracks there.

Nia Collins, Strategic Planning & Programme Manager and Isle of Wight Hub Lead, says:

"For us BHM is not just about October so all of these resources we are creating will have a lasting legacy as part of other projects and content being made use of throughout the year and onwards"

Photographer: Nosa Malcolm. Turner Sims, Southampton.

Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 September saw the return of the hub’s live music offer to schools in Southampton. A collaboration between Jazz Denmark, Turner Sims and Southampton Music Hub provided schools from across the city the opportunity to watch performances by Sveneborg Kardyebe and RKIDA. Both groups wowed their young audience with an outstanding show of musicianship on both very old and very new musical instruments and technologies.

Sarah Lloyd, Music leader at Kanes Hill said:

It was such an incredible experience and our children left literally buzzing. Being able to bring hear RKDIA was just so fab. The children were absolutely captivated and inspired and had so many brilliant things to say afterwards.”

In a letter they wrote to the performers, the pupils added

‘“It was so good it nearly knocked our socks off. We especially liked the way you improvised. Your passion for music and your instruments was so clear that it has made us want to learn to play the drums and piano (especially the drums). Your talent is out of this world! Those of us that play instruments (just over half of the class) wish we could play as well as you. You also looked like you were really enjoying yourselves, which is cool.”

When it was finished, we were buzzing and most of us clapped so hard that our hands nearly fell off!”

“Overall, this was the best day we have had in year 6 so far and we wish we could watch you perform again. We keep asking our teacher to put the clips we have of you performing on loop!”

“We really are very grateful for the opportunity and are so appreciative that we got to go into such an impressive hall. We hope next year's Year Six will get to go too.”

On Monday 3 October 2022, Southampton Music Hub launches its online resource hub celebrating a vibrant local ecosystem of music, created by young people for young people.

Starting with three key areas — ways to experience the music of others, facilities to practice and record, and music as a career — the resource will continue to grow and develop with the interests, ambitions and needs of the city’s young people at its heart.

On Saturday 16 July Southampton Music Hub brought performances and workshops to Southampton Mela as part of Art Asia’s vibrant celebration of the city’s cultures and creativity.

With performances from Southampton Youth Wind Band, Harmony Junction, and FLOW rap workshops from the DNA Team, the Mela was a celebration of many of the themes of the year at Southampton Music Hub.

Live Music is BACK

Southampton Youth Wind Band played a phenomenal set at the Mela, and they are just one of the hub’s many groups, bands and orchestras who have enjoyed performing live music this year. Since last September, the city and it’s young people have seen an exciting return of live music. We’ve seen performances for schools, at MAST and the community. We’ve seen performances from young people often alongside and supported by incredible established artists and groups, including rappers, orchestras and more.

Co-creation and Partnership

Harmony Junction was a co-created by Southampton Music Hub and Art Asia and is a great example of the way Southampton Music Hub works in partnership with others to help support diverse and authentic expressions of music and music education. From our Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded Rap and Literacy project, to the Proud to Be events, to young people at the heart of the city’s cultural celebrations, this year has been all about partnership, and that will only continue to grow in the future,

Young People Take The Lead

Our freestyle workshop, with freestyle rapper Tenchoo, at the Mela, is a great example of how this year young people have increasingly been taking the lead in shaping the music offer that is available to them. Our DNA programme includes support for young people to find their voice with songwriting and production, and then use that voice to help pick the programme of masterclasses, groups and workshops to help them flourish. Young people are having an increasing voice in shaping the future of music-making and learning in the city.

A Vibrant Local Ecosystem of Music Education

As Southampton Music Hub closes one year, and looks ahead to the next, its clear to see that music education in the city is about to take another huge step forward following the announcement of the new National Plan for Music Education. Part Southampton' Music Hub’s response will be to grow and develop our support of the vibrant local ecosystem of music education which we saw on display at the Mela festival on Saturday. There is real excitement across the city — from schools, education settings, hub partners and beyond — to see music education in the city become more diverse, more inclusive and more accessible to all.

News highlights of the year:

On the hottest day ever recorded in the UK, Southampton Music Hub rock bands braved the sun and soaring temperatures to entertain the students at Bitterne Park Secondary at their "Big Picnic". With a stage and a very enthusiastic young crowd the event had a real festival feel to it. Both bands rose to the occasion and as always gave fantastic performances.

In rather cooler temperatures three days later the Southampton Youth Orchestra gave their "Uprising" Concert. Performing as always to a very high standard they received a standing ovation after a very moving performance of Shostakovich's 5th Symphony which brought some members of the audience to tears.

For the final event of the year 35 young musicians from Southampton and beyond came together for the Supersonic Summer School in partnership with C. Working over three days the young players put together a wonderful programme of classical and popular favourites. These players had never played together before and for many this was their first experience of playing in an orchestra.

Isle of Wight Music Hub are delighted to have been able to programme 6 hours on the Carnivale Stage at Rhythm Tree again after a three year haitus.  The Hub worked in partnership with the Rhythm Tree Festival organisers, Shademakers (who decorated and dressed the stage and area so spectacularly) and schools to allow them the opportunity to perform at an international festival!

Twelve schools and over 300 pupils took it in turns to perform with everything from ukuleles, glockenspiels, djembes and traditional rock bands represented and pupils from Year 3 up to Year 11.  The festival organisers and production team Widget built a custom ramp onto the stage to ensure that pupils from St George’s School were able to access the event and perform too.  Young people performed to a fantastic audience made up of enthusiastic parents and festival goers who braved hotter than 30 degree temperatures at the new Festival site at Sticelett Farm.

Nia Collins, IOW Music Hub Lead said:

“It really was incredible to watch the depth and breadth of musical excellence happening across the island across all ages and abilities.  For the music Hub to have been able to give them the opportunity and a literal platform to do so along with our partners was an honour.  I hope that the young people that took part today will remember this experience for a very long time to come!”

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